Valve



Feb. 6, 1940.

C. E. BRIDWELL VALVE Filed March 9, 193'? 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR;

. 6222/ 2: f." Emdwe/l ATTORNEY.

Feb. 1940- c. EJBRIDWELL VALVE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 9, 1937 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

PatentediFeb. 6,

l UNITED STATES Application March 9, 1937,. Serial 129,912"v 2 Claims. (01. 251-114) r a r a f invention relates to a new and useful improvement in a valve mechanism normally held by a spring in closed position and adapted upon overcoming of the spring compression or tension :3 for being moved to open position. The invention lends itself for use in various types of valve mechanisms and is particularly adapted for use; under conditions where liquid under pressure may be encountered under such conditions that the pressure will force the valve into open position, and

also force the valve into closed position alternately. I i i i It is an objectof the present invention to provide a valve so constructed and arranged-that a 35 maximum of efiiciency, durability, simplicityof structure'and economy of manufacture may be obtained. a

It "is another object of the present invention I to provide a valve mechanism having a spring cooperating with annular members and in which there is an embracing relation between the spring I and the annular members, the annular members being so arranged that when the spring is in compressed condition they will be moved into contact with each other and serve as a closure.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

.The invention consists in the combination and arrangement. of parts hereinafter described and claimed. l

Theinvention will be best understood by a reference to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal, central, sectional view of'the invention showing it applied to an oil well. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view ofthe invention showing the valve constructed for use witha sucker rod. t

Fig.3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. I

0 I Fig. 4 is a sectionalview taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2. I e a Fig, 5 is a central, sectional view of a pump showing the invention in use. l 4 a Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6- 6 of Fig.7 is a sectional viewtaken online l---.! of

Fig. 5.

I Fig. 81s a central, sectional view of a valve in closed ,position showing the invention in use, 50 Fig..9 is aview similar to Fig. 8 showing the valve in open position.. x

. Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on line l0|ll .of 1. r v a "While the invention may be used with various '55 types of valves, it particularly adapted for use in connection with the pumping operations carried on in an oil well- In Fig. 2 I have shown the invention mounted in a working barrel [4. Snugly engaging in this workingbarrel and slidable therein is a plunger embodying the upper 5 crown I5 which is mounted on one end of the tubular portion l6 and through which is extended the passage I! the, upper end of which is threaded as at l8 for the reception of thesucker n" rod which is not shown Threaded onto the m lower end of the tubular portion I6 is the lower crown 19 which is hollow and provided with the lateral openings 20. This crown l9 isthreaded against the flange 2| formedson the sleeve/22 ,2

which is provided with the internal shoulder 23 in against which one end of the spring 24 engages,

this end of the spring 24 being securely attached to the member 22. The other end of the spring 'is fitte d in the cup-shaped member 25 tofwhich it is securely attached. This cup-shaped'-member carries the tubular projection 26 having the diameter of the member I6. Embracing the spring 24 are the annular members, rings or collars 29. The end faces of the rings or collars 29, and likewise, the faces of the members 22 and 25 are ground or lapped to a high polished finish 556 so that when a pair of these faces so ground are brought into engagement; they seat against each other with a sealing contact. The same is also i true of the end faces of 29325, and 46, shown in Fig. 1 andof the members 55and 54, s2, and 55.

63, shown in Fig. 5, and of the collars I5, and of the members 13 and M shownin Figatl. In the formshown in Fig. l and Fig. 2, these parts,- when brought into the position shownin Fig. 2, are always concentric relatively to eachother, so that there is a proper seating engagement be- ,tweenqthe faces. This precision of engagement is assisted by the spring member. 'I'hiswould be truealso Whether the members 29, 22 and 25 em-' brace the-springer whether these members were embraced by the spring. The end faceof one of theendmost annular membersengages the inner face of the member 22. When the parts are assembled, the spring is stretched slightly. When the. partsare in the position shown in Fig. 2, so that thevarious parts are incontact with each other to effect the desired seal so as to close com-'- munication ,betweenthe space 28 and the interior of the crown IS, the spring is under, tension.

other, wear at the contacting faces, the wear will ordinarily be taken up by the lessening of the tension to which the spring is subjected. This spring, of course, isof sufiicient strength to maintain these parts, when the valve is in closed po- I sition, in such close contact as to effect the desired seal. Another .feature of the invention which has been noticed when fluid containing sand or grit is being pumped through is that the sand or grit in the-fluid which engages between the contacting'serves as a grinding'lcom'pound to constantly keep the faces in proper' condition for seating against each other in sealing relation.

In Fig. 1, I have illustrated the invention used with a stationary valve which is intended to cooperate with the mechanism shown in Fig.2;

As shown in Fig. l, the working barrel [4' is I" threaded onto an extension 39 which isprovided intermediate its ends with the inwardly projecting shoulder-forming flange 3!. The lower end of the extensionflil is threaded onto a case ing extension 32 having the lateral openings 33 formed therein.' 'Positioned in the extension 35) surface of-thetapered body 42, so that when the body 42 is dropped into the sleeve 34 these tapered surfaces will engage each other in a sealing contact" The upper end of the tube 43 is threaded and threaded onto this threaded portion is a lock sleeve M which is threadedon its periphery'at its upper end and threads into the lower end of the tubular body It depending from the upper crown it." The lock sleeve M is provided with a tapered peripheral surface which is ground toa high degree of polish and which is adapted to engage the tapered surface 35 so that when the tapered surface of the member 44 engages in the surface 35, a sealing engagement contact" is effected. This upper crown I is provided with the threaded passage 45 into which a rod may be threaded when desired. Ordinarily, a rod would be threaded into the passage at only when it is desired to remove the valve assembly. The upper end of the member 44 engages the collar it and presses its peripheral flange 41 against the inwardly projecting shoulder 48 formed on the member It. This member 66 is provided with a recess in which one end of the spring-2t engages. This end of the springis securely attached to the member .46. The upper end of the spring is attached to a -body'25 corresponding to the body25 and provided with the upward extension 2% having the lateral openings" 21' formed therein. 'Ernbracing these springs are annular members, rings or collars 29 corresponding .to the members 29 explained Fig. 2. The ground faces are provided on the members '25, 4B and the annular members 29 so that when these parts are moved to engagingpos'ition a sealing engagement will be effected.

Afunctionof the ring is to lock the sleeve Q3 in position after it is inserted. 'Ihis split ring 30 will snap into position to maintain the ,ribs, or beads tfi and 39in engagement'in the grooves 38 .and 31. The ring itself engaging the shoulder 4:! will resist a withdrawal of the tube 43 a sealing nature.

from the member 34, under normal pumping conditions. The tapered faces of the grooves 36 and 31 cooperating with the tapered surfaces of the ribs or'beads 38 and 39 will permit a withdrawal of the mechanism when a disassembly of the parts is desired and suflicient upward pressure is asserted on the member 43.

In operation the valve mechanism shown in Fig. l would be mounted at the bottom of the working barrel or casing and the mechanism shown in Fig. 2 which constitutes the'travelling valveywould' be reciprocated by the sucker rod. When used for pumping an oil well, as the travelling valve shown in Fig. 2 would be moved downwardly toward the standing valve shown in Fig. l, the upward pressure on the spring 24',

shownin Fig. ,1 would be relieved and the annular members 29 would be clamped between the member 46 and the member 25 to provide a closed sealing connection. As the movement of the travelling valve continues the liquid positioned above the standing valve and below the travelling valve would pass upwardly through the'crown 19 into the interior of the spring and outwardly thereof into the interior of the tubuiar member it'between the coils ofthe spring which would be s ightly spread apart, the'member '25- being forced upwardly so as to stretch thesprin'g- 24 and place the assembled parts in substantially the position that the corresponding parts are shown in Fig. 1.

the parts 36, 29, and 25 being moved into'the 1 position shownin Fig. 1. Consequently, it is seen that the valve mechanism consists of'the spring and its cooperating parts, namely: ;the member 22,-the annular members 29 and ,the

member 25 in Fig. 2 and .the:corresponding parts 1 I throughthe hollow valve'section 54. This *h'ollow valve section cooperates with a cup-shaped valve section into which is projected .and'secured one end of a spring :56. The other end of the spring 56 is secured to the member 54 and .the faces .of the members 55 and 1548 are adapted to engage and are ground so that when in en- .gagement they .will form an intimate contact of When assembled the spring is under such conditions ,as -,to normally .tend to retain the parts 545 and 155 in engagement with each other.

This pump is of the reciprocating type ,and leading from :the chamber :53.isa cylinder 51 in which is slidably mounted the piston 58 recip'- rocated by the reciprocating rod :59. 'When" the piston 58 is reciprocated inone direction it will draw liquid through the pipe 5| an'dthis liquid will ,force the valve sections 55 and 5 4 into the position shown in Fig. 5. 'When the piston' 58 is rnoved in the opposite direction the valve sections 54 and .55 will move-into engagement with The pump '7 tact.

' parts concentric with eachother.

6 I, through the valve section 62 which is designed to cooperate with the valve section 63. The meeting faces of these valve sections 62 and 63' are finely ground to afford the necessary sealing con- A spring 64 is connected at one end to the member 62 and at the opposite end to the member 63 and serves to normally retain the valve sections in contact with each other. When the piston moves in the direction to expel the liquid from the chamber 53 and the valve sections 54 and 55 have moved to closed position the pressure of the liquid will force the valve sections 62 and 63 to separate and permit the passage of the liquid into the chamber or compartment 60. Experience has shown that when this valve is used for this purpose a very effective valve operation is obtained. a

I have illustrated the invention also used with a manually opened and closed valve as illustrated in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9. In this form of construction an inlet pipe 66 and an outlet pipe fil communicate with the valve housing 68 carrying the cap 69 through which is threaded a longitudinally movable operating stem 10 on which is mounted the hand grid 1|. A spring 12 is secured at one end to the fixedly mounted ring 13, the opposite end of the spring 12 being fixedly attached to the cup-shaped member 14. The sealing rings or annular members 15 embrace the spring 12, and in this construction the spring, when assembled, is under such conditions as to normally retain the valve in open position as shown in Fig. 9. When the stem "m is threaded downwardly as shown in Fig. 8 the valve may be moved to closed position.

In all of the forms illustrated the sealing members or rings are shown as frictionally embracing the spring but it is obvious that the same results could be obtained were'the spring itself to frictionally embrace the sealing members. It should be noted that the sealing members which contact each otherare carried by a yieldable member which serves as a. guide by returning these contact members into properly aligned contacting position after the separation or movement into non-engaging position, and it will also be noted that this carried member which serves as a guidefor the contact members is flexible and yet of sufiicient strength and resiliency to normally tend to maintain the various contacting This would serve to prevent the parts moving to undesirable lateral positions so that the members 25 and '25 swinging sidewise so as to rub against the inner surface of the members l6 and I6 is resisted and normally prevented. It will also be noted that the coils of the spring, when the valve is moved to closing position such as shown in Fig. 2, will serve as an auxiliary seal. With the spring, under tension, when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2 so as to maintain the contacting or sealing parts in proper engagement, experience has shown that the separation of the coils resulting from placing the spring under such a tension is so negligible that the coils themselves do serve as auxiliary sealing means. Of course, the degree of separation of the coils for the purposes of obtaining the necessary constant tension on the contacting parts when the valve is in closing position would depend upon the strength of the spring used. Because of the frictional engagement betweenthe sealing collars and the coils of the springs of the forms shown in Figures 1 and 8, the said collars are caused to separate as the device is opened.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction I do not wish to limit myself to the specific type of construction shown but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as may come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire'to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A valve mechanism adapted for being interposed in a fluid conduit and controlling the flow of fluid through said conduit, comprising. a

tubular coil spring fixed at one end in alignment with the conduit; a plurality of separate annular sealing members arranged relatively to said spring in embracing relation andin frictionalengagement therewith, said sealing members engaging each other in sealing relation upon the closing of said spring and moving into separated relation upon the spreading of said spring, said sealing members engaging. each other at their adjacent ends, means at one end of said spring for engaging the outer end of one of the endmost of said sealing members in sealing relation; and means at the other end of said spring for engaging the outer end of the other endmost sealing member in sealing relation upon the closing of said spring, said spring being normally under tension for normally maintaining said sealing members in sealing engagement with each other.

2. A valve mechanism adapted for being interposed in a fiuidconduit and controlling the flow of fluid through said conduit, comprising: a housing adapted to be interposed in said conduit, having an inlet port for communication between said housing and. said conduit and an outlet port for communication between-said housing and said with, one of the endmost of said sealing members being engageable with said closure and the other endmost of said sealing members being engageable with said abutment member and clamped againsteach other and between said abutment memberand said closure for forming therewith and with each other a sealing contact upon the closing of said spring, and moving out of engagement with each other and with said closure and said abutment member upon the spreading of said spring, said spring being normally under tension for maintaining said sealing contact;

CH ALON E. BRIDWELL. 

